Description:
The discovery of the Chengjiang Biota by Hou Xian-guang in 1984
opened a window onto a remarkable array of lifeforms from what is
termed the Cambrian Explosion.

The
diversity of soft-tissue fossils is astonishing: algae, medusiforms,
sponges, priapulids, annelid-like worms, echinoderms, arthropods
(including trilobites), hemichordates, chordates, and the first
agnathan fish make up just a small fraction of the total. Numerous
problematic forms are known as well, some of which may have represented
failed attempts at diversity that did not persist to the present
day.

This
is a set of teeth of Parapeytoia yunnanensis, believed to be a relative
of the “Terror Of The Cambrian”, Anomalocaris saron.
The members of this group of enigmatic creatures are known from
Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America, and are thought by many
to be closely allied with the Arthropda, a position not held by
all researchers. This type is known from mostly fragmentary remains,
but the backward-facing mouth and drastically different morphology
of the grasping appendages have led some researchers to propose
that Parapeytoia is not an Alomalocarid, but rather more closely
allied with the great appendage arthropods such as Haikoucaris (see
my other offerings) .